I'm Back
by Vaelliance
Summary: Ten years after Rin beat Haruka in the tournament, Rin reaches his dreams. Now he's on his way back to his hometown, on his way back to Haru.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I wish I owned Free! Then Rin wouldn't be the sad beautiful bby that he is.

A/N: This is my very first Free! fanfic. There's an OC in the story but doesn't really appear that much. Forgive me for any mistakes and Enjoy!

* * *

It's been ten years since Rin had started moving forward to his dream of becoming an Olympic swimmer. Ten years since his time had started moving again. Ten years since his motivation to swim again was rekindled. Ten years since he had beaten his _rival_ in a tournament.

After beating that certain _rival_ of his, Rin's pace to reaching his dream had greatly improved. He won tournaments consecutively, became his country's representative, raced in the Olympics Trials Swim Meet, and even _won_ a gold medal in the Olympics. He was at the heights of his success and had forgotten where his motivation to swim again had started. Ten years had already passed since then.

In those ten years, while basking in his dream come true, Rin met many people. He started dating women in a different country and had thrown them aside one after the other when they got in the way of his dream; much like how he threw away a certain _friendship_ that he thought had ruined him. Among the women who walked into his life, one had managed to stay. He surprised even himself that he found such a woman whom he dated for four long years. And after those years of trials and hardships, they decided that maybe it was time for them to settle down.

After ten years of parting from his hometown which he had wanted to forget and _did_ forget in those years, Rin was on his way to going back where he had started in the insistence of his soon-to-be wife.

"I want to meet your father." She told him after he proposed. In the four years that they were together, he never took her to his hometown for a visit for he, himself, did not want to go back. He did not want to meet _him_. "I'd also love to see the swim club in which you were in when you were still young."

He strongly opposed to this. "There's no need to go see the swim club. It's history." Truth was he just didn't want to go and risk seeing a rival he'd never talked about to her before. He wanted to forget about _him_ the most so he avoided mentioning or even thinking about him.

"I still want to meet your father."

So Rin was flying back to his hometown first, his soon-to-be wife arriving three days after him. They agreed upon this arrangement because his fiancé still had business to do and had convinced him to go back first. "It's also been awhile since you went back there. Go back first so you can recollect your memories with the place then you will show it to me." They argued about this but the woman had managed to win him over.

A lot of things went back to him when he arrived _home_; the very first among those things was _him_, of course. Just at the very thought of coincidentally meeting the person sent Rin's heart racing, his stomach flipping. He even had to squeeze his hands into fists hard to stop himself from trembling -not that he'd admit it-, his jaws clenching, his teeth gritting.

Thinking about the ten years they've been apart though, he couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the guy. He never heard any news since he'd cut off all ties with everyone close to that guy and he'd never come back _at all_. The curiosity started creeping up at him and a strange feeling welled up within his chest that he shook his head, demanding himself to stop thinking about him. He told himself that he didn't want to meet that person ever again.

"Brother, you've finally decided to come back home!" His younger sister, Kou, cheerfully greeted him when he arrived. Because he stubbornly refused to come back and threatened to also cut off all ties with her, Kou had always been the one who went to visit him outside the country. He warned her well never to mention about a guy from back home though whenever she visited.

Upon setting his red eyes on his sister's identical ones, he immediately glared at her and growled, "Kou, you didn't tell anyone I came back, did you?!"

"Uh…" Kou raised her hands to her chest defensively as she shook her head. "No. No, I didn't."

"That better be the truth!" He hissed and turned away. He could never forget how his sister had set him up in high school to meet up with his so-called _friends_. Even before, he had already wanted to sever all ties with them but his sister knew well how to lure him out and had ended up meeting with those people instead. That's when things had started to be complicated.

The place didn't change much at all from how he'd remembered it. There were a few new constructed buildings but still same old street, same old ways. A sense of nostalgia washed over him with memories he didn't want to remember which he tried to push away. Seriously, he just wanted this to be over already.

"Ah!" Kou exclaimed as she suddenly stopped walking. Rin turned to her worriedly with a questioning look as she just smiled up at him sheepishly, scratching an index finger to her cheek. "I forgot that I still have to buy something for dinner later. We just passed by the shop so I have to go back. You go on ahead, brother. I'll be quick and catch up."

Rin grunted and nodded, continuing on his walk as Kou turned back to where they came from and ran away.

While he continued on his way, Rin was spacing out with nothing in particular in mind until he stopped in his tracks in front of the rail. A train was currently passing by him, this scene bringing up a distant memory from the past. It was during the Christmas break on his first year of middle school that he came back and met his rival here. He was standing on the very same side of the rail, the guy on the other side and just like at the moment, he waited for the train to clear his view.

Just as he was thinking this, the train did run to its ends and he slowly brought up his gaze to look in front of him. _And then, he was_- he froze in place with shock as the guy, the person, his _rival_ stood in front of him, mirroring his shock. They just continued to stand in place even when the tracks had cleared, staring at one another with wide eyes.

"Rin." As a painfully familiar voice called out to him, he snapped out of shock and turned on his heel then moved to run away. He wasn't fast enough to run though for he felt a warm hand clasping around his wrist and stopping him. He didn't struggle out of the hand's hold but he kept his back facing the person for he knew his emotions were leaking to his face. He could totally feel them overflowing out of him, a side of him denying this.

"Rin." _His_ voice called out again.

He took in deep breaths, finding it rather hard to do so as his chest was currently feeling very heavy. He was also starting to tremble and he didn't want the other person to notice so he forced himself to calm down. Once he did, he slowly turned around to face the one person he wanted to forget the most and forced out a cocky smile which failed to show any cockiness. "Yo, Haru."

They went back to staring at each other again, red orbs to blue ones. Rin sucked in a breath as he felt himself getting swallowed in the other's gaze and he pulled away his arm from the other's hold. Then silence.

Rin suddenly remembered Kou and he trembled in fury. This must have been her set up again. He should've been suspicious when she suddenly said she forgot to buy something and refused to go on ahead! He silently cursed at his sister, clicking his tongue in annoyance for getting him into a complicated situation.

"Rin." He flinched at the call of his name and he turned back to look at Haru. This time, he avoided looking him in the eye and looked at his appearance instead. The guy didn't seem to have changed at all. Although he looked older and more mature now -even though he had always looked more mature than anyone-, he still gave off the feeling of … Haru. "Why didn't you say you've come back?" His head snapped up to look at Haru in the face. He couldn't help himself.

His gaze was met with Haru's blank face but his eyes betrayed his expression. They were filled with grief and… longing. He turned his head away from that sight. This is exactly what he didn't want to see. He opened his mouth to answer Haru but found that he didn't know what to say. Haru should already know the answer to his own question and Rin couldn't say it. In the end, he could only press his lips together and stay silent.

"Congratulations." Haru started when Rin didn't say anything. The latter looked up and the former smiled at him, a smile that was both happy and sad. "You've finally reached your dream."

Rin felt a painful twinge in his chest and his fists shook as he struggled to keep himself in control. "Yeah."

Despite Rin's uncooperative replies, Haru continued on talking. This was strange to the both of them especially because it used to be the other way around in the past. "I watched all of your matches. You've truly gone so far and it's amazing." Rin noticed Haru's breathe hitch and he struggled to keep his eyes away. To no avail. "Seeing you reach your dream and swim in the Olympics, I feel very happy for you."

Yet Haru was hastily wiping away his tears that Rin knew wasn't from happiness alone. He crossed his arms to his chest to keep them to himself as he felt the strong urge to embrace the other. He couldn't believe that even after ten years had passed, his feelings for this man in front of him had not changed. It even seemed like they've increased tenfold.

"I'm very happy that I'm able to congratulate you, Rin." Right after his words, Haru turned away and walked back to where he came from.

Rin reached out a hand to Haru but he stopped himself and withdrew it. He was still unwilling to give in to his feelings for this man and he couldn't anymore. He looked at his engagement ring on his left hand, his other hand squeezing his chest. _Not anymore_.

* * *

Even the ringing of his cell phone wasn't able to snap Rin out of his daze. He just reached out for it and he absent-mindedly answered, "Hello?" his voice unenthusiastic and lifeless.

"Rin, were you able to get back home safely?" his fiancé's usually cheerful voice said from the speaker of the phone.

That was when Rin slightly got back some of his energy and shifted on his seat on the couch. He forgot how long he'd been sitting there but he finally noticed that his bottom had started to become sore. And the whole time he just doze off there, he had been thinking of only Haru. He wanted to bang his head against the wall as he ran a hand through his hair, replying, "Yeah."

His fiancé giggled and asked, "How is it there?"

"Nothing's changed." Not the place, not Haru and not their feelings for one another. There he went again thinking about that guy even though he's talking with his soon-to-be wife. He ruffled his red hair in frustration as he bit out. "Hurry up and come here already. I want to leave this place."

"What's the hurry? You just got there. Why don't you go and visit your friends there? Wouldn't they be thrilled to see you again after so many years? And you're getting married already too!" She laughed.

At the mention of their marriage, a jolt of pain struck him. He ignored it and denied to himself that he knew the reason why he's in pain. "I don't have any friends here." He almost only whispered.

She laughed again. "It must be because you're such a jerk! Don't worry; I'll be there in three days. Bear with it, baby. I love you!"

Another jolt of pain and throbbing chest. He swallowed hard for his voice not to waver when he replied, "I love you too."

* * *

The day after Rin had arrived back to his home, he decided to go visit his father's grave that he had not gone to for ten years. He felt rather bad for not visiting him until now especially after he's reached his dream. After all, his father shared the same dream as him. So he thought maybe he could clean up the grave as compensation before bringing his fiancé to it then clear his head of the contamination that was Haru.

Standing in front of the tombstone with his father's name to it, he paid his respects first before proceeding to talking to his deceased father. "I've reached my dream, dad. Your dream." He said, tapping a fist against the cold tombstone.

In the past, he imagined himself in this same scene, telling his father proudly of his success. He thought that grasping his dream, _their_ dream, would be the happiest moment of his life. Yet, as he weakly bent to his knees and leaned his forehead against the tombstone, nothing but pain and sadness was in his heart. The image of Haru kept on appearing in his mind; the way he talked, he smiled, he cried. Pain was present in all of them and Rin couldn't help feeling pained as well. It reminded him of the last time he and Haru talked before he started walking towards his dream again. What did Haru look like after he left? Did he cry more? He didn't know. Because that day, Rin stormed away, abandoning Haru and his feelings.

* * *

After winning the tournament _that day_, when they were in their second year of high school, and having an encounter with Makoto and the others, Haru had asked Rin to meet him at their elementary swim club pool. They did meet later on; Haru looking spaced out more than he usually did while Rin just stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "What do you want?"

Haru looked up and stared at him as he waited for an answer. The silence dragged on though until Rin finally scowled, his patience running out. "I don't understand." He started.

Rin's eyebrow went higher as he looked at Haru questioningly. "Haa?"

"I don't understand." Haru repeated as if Rin had not heard him the first time. He followed up his sentence faster this time though. "I thought that I'd finally become free if I raced you in the tournament."

Rin was aware that Haru had not become "free" because of Makoto. He, himself, had hit a realization he didn't want. "It's me who doesn't understand." He said as he glared at the other. "I thought you didn't care about your time or winning. Why are you suddenly so upset?"

Haru revealed an expression that Rin had never thought he'd ever see in _his_ face, of all people. It made his heart beat faster, his chest squeeze tightly and made it hard to breath. Haru had looked both desperate and hopeless. "I also don't know." Haru said in a slightly trembling voice. "I don't know why I'm upset I didn't win, I don't know why it hurt when you said you're never swimming with me again." He took in a breath which almost sounded like a sob and whispered. "I don't know why I want us to go back to how we were in elementary."

That last sentence that Rin barely heard made him surprised that he stared at the blue-eyed incredulously. "Ha? What are you saying?"

"I want us to go back to how we were when we were in elementary." Haru stated louder this time, feeling bolder. His blue eyes looked straight into red ones with sadness and grief. "Rin, if you have won our race during middle school, would things be different now? Would we have returned to being friends? Would you smile and laugh like how you used to before?"

The eyes staring at Rin made him feel like he's being sucked into it. He's never seen this kind of Haru before and he's the one causing him to be like this. His chest throbbed with pain as his hands balled into tight fists. "Why do you want things to be different? Don't just tell me you don't know!" He growled.

Silence filled up the space in between them as Haru thought about it. Rin waited, not feeling like breaking the silence even though it was pressing him. It felt like hours had passed by them until Haru finally opened his mouth and spoke up. "I… I think I like you." Rin's eyes widened, his heart jumping. Did he hear that right? "I liked your smile. I liked you as you were. I was also upset when you went to Australia. And I felt glad when we met a year later that. But…" he trailed off, this time, Rin freezing with shock when tears started falling off Haru's eyes. They fell silent again, Haru crying and trying to hold back his sobs while Rin just staring with shock.

It took time for Rin to let what Haru said sink in and in each time they did, a knot from his stomach loosened. He started feeling something fluttering in his chest and a slight bit of happiness. But he didn't want this. Not now or ever. He turned away from Haru to run before his feelings went uncontrolled but a hand stopped him. He pulled his arm away from the hand and yelled, "No! Things wouldn't be different even if I won our race that day!" He faced Haru but he couldn't bring himself to look at the other in the eyes. "I'd still not want to swim with you ever again! It's because of you that I couldn't move any closer to my dream! It's you who ruined me! I don't want to swim with you or even see you!"

He ran away at the top of his lungs and as far as his feet took him after that outburst. His chest was squeezing him from inside out and he refused to acknowledge the feelings he knew he was feeling. He hit a fist on a wall when he finally stopped running, his other hand squeezing on the area where his heart was. He'll never admit that he, too, felt like Haru did.

* * *

There was a saying that time heals all wounds. But both Rin and Haru didn't seem to have healed up even after ten years. They still felt hurt seeing each other again and that's not all. Rin knew he felt the way Haru felt too. He knew but he didn't want to admit it. He thought he'd moved on from Haru after that tournament and he thought he didn't… he thought he loved his fiancé _more_. Seemed like he was very wrong.

"Brother, did you settle things with Haruka-senpai?" Kou's voice sounded from behind him, worry evident in her tone. After his encounter with Haru the day before and got back to Kou, he didn't mention to her seeing the guy and didn't have the energy to scold her for setting them up to meet again. Kou looked like she wanted to ask him that question the whole time but didn't. So she's asking him now.

"No." He weakly replied. "There's nothing to settle in between us. And you're still calling him "senpai"? It's been years since you've graduated."

Kou hesitated but drew out all her courage to continue on the conversation. "Brother, how do you feel about Haruka-senpai now? Do you think you can swim together again?" When Rin didn't answer her, she continued on. "Haruka-senpai wants to swim with you again, brother. Would you?"

Rin didn't know what to say. The thought of swimming with Haru again made his heart flutter with excitement. But he was afraid. He was afraid that if he swam with him, he might not be able to hold back his feelings anymore. And now, of all times, wasn't a good time for his feelings to be going wild.

"When you left, brother," Kou started again when Rin stayed silent. "Haruka-senpai was very depressed. He can smile and laugh again now but at that time, he was very lifeless. Even the water which he loved so much wasn't able to heal him." Kou took in a breath and continued on. "But when he saw you competing in the Olympics and finally reaching your dreams, he went normal again. He said that you were probably happy that you've finally reached your dream and that as long as you're happy, he's happy as well." Kou started to tremble, her eyes starting to water. "All this time, Haruka-senpai loved you. He couldn't love anyone else other than you. He couldn't forget about you."

Rin snapped up to his feet and turned to Kou, his eyes filled with anger and grief. "Why are you telling me all these, Kou? What do you exactly want me to do? Have you forgotten that I'm getting married soon?!"

Kou almost cowered but she snapped back at her brother. "I just want you to swim with Haruka-senpai again! Just one last time then maybe he'll be able to move on! You were able to after you beat him at the tournament, right?"

Rin fell silent. He wanted to retort back, "Yes! Yes, I did! " but he couldn't because he knew that wasn't the truth. Even now, his feelings for Haru were threatening to take him over. He sighed loudly, rubbing the back of his head. "Listen, Kou, there's no need for Haru and I to race jus-"

"Tonight." Kou interrupted him. "I told Haruka-senpai to go to the Iwatobi School pool and that you'll meet him there." She continued hurriedly before Rin could let out a sound of complaint, "It's your own choice whether to go there or not. If you do, Haruka-senpai will be expecting you to race with him. If you don't, Haruka-senpai will probably feel hurt." She took in a deep breath. "But you won't have to face him ever again. Especially because _she_ will finally arrive tomorrow then you can go back to Australia and get married."

Neither of the two were good choices for Rin at all. He glared at his younger sister who seemed like the expert to putting him in difficult situations before turning away with a frown. "I'll think about it."

* * *

A/N: Please tell me what you think! I seriously suck at describing feelings... Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I wish I owned Free! Then Haru would be married to Rin. Oh, they already are.

A/N: I'm sorry for the late update. I had a hard time deciding stuffs for this story. The next one will come sooner.

* * *

It's been ten years since the last time Haruka saw _him_. Ten years since the last time he talked to his so-called _rival_. Ten years since he last swam with him.

After having beaten by his _rival_, Haruka fell into depression not only because he lost in swimming but also because he had his heart broken. He never felt at such a loss before that time, never felt so hopeless, never felt so empty. Even the water which always made him feel better had not healed him. And he even almost stopped swimming. He did stop swimming competitively again though. He just couldn't bring out the same excitement he used to have when feeling the water anymore. He couldn't feel the thrill as if he's gone completely numb. And he might actually have because of _him_.

It's amazing how that person was able to affect him so much that not even his childhood best friend, Makoto, could compare. He was supposed to be a calm, stoic guy but that person always managed to make his feelings overflow. Even after ten years, that person still took his breath away at the mere sight of him.

"Haruka-senpai, can you meet me?" The younger sister of that person, Kou, had sent him that message on his cell phone while he was on his way towards home from work. He'd become a swimming coach by the encouragement of his friends even though he wasn't very good at it. The details to what time and where to meet was written out under the question, indirectly stating that she wouldn't take no for an answer.

Since he didn't have anything important to do other than get to his house and bathe, he agreed to the meeting and headed towards the indicated place from the message.

He stopped in front of the tracks and dazedly watched the train pass by him. The tracks always brought him back to the past, from that time when that person had just returned from abroad and they coincidentally met one another. While thinking back, a question would always float into his mind which he couldn't find an answer to.

As the train's ends passed by him, he let out a sigh and prepared to cross. Then he froze. The reason being, just like in the past, his _rival_, the person of his depression, the man who had broken his heart was standing on the other side.

They both looked at one another with identical looks of surprise and stayed like that for seconds. Haru seemed to have recovered from shock first though, and as his feelings started welling up in his chest like waves flooding all over his entirety, he murmured the name of the person he last saw ten years ago. "Rin."

Rin snapped out of his shock and abruptly turned away. Without even thinking, Haru ran to Rin and got a hold of the man's arm before he got away. Somehow, he knew and expected Rin to run away when they met again. However, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of pain with this kind of reaction coming from the person he cared the most. Ten long years, they've not seen each other yet Rin would still run away at the sight of him. _Was I the reason he didn't return in all those years?_

"Rin." He called out again, his voice coming out normal even though he was feeling so much turmoil from within.

The redhead turned around with a smile that wasn't quiet him and greeted, "Yo, Haru."

Haru stared and so did Rin. The latter had not changed a lot except he looked more mature and stronger. Literally. Haru thought it must've been because of all the competitions Rin went through to get to the Olympics. Still, he had the same beautiful face and beautiful red eyes which, sadly, didn't have any shine into them just like how Haru had last seen them. And he found that strange.

The arm in which he held unto was pulled away from his grasp then a click of tongue. Haru immediately thought of things to say to break the awkward silence in between them that he knew the other wouldn't be breaking and there were a lot of things that occurred in mind. But the question which came out of his mouth was, "Rin, why didn't you say you've come back?"

As soon as he heard his own question, he wanted to bang his head against a wall. Rin looked at him then turned away with a frown. He opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out so he just closed them again. Haru knew why Rin couldn't answer his question. He was painfully aware of the reason and he actually knew the answer to his own question.

Rin didn't look like he'd initiate a conversation soon so Haru started it. "Congratulations," he said and forced out a smile when Rin looked at him. "You've finally reached your dream." He almost choked from the mixed feelings he felt from his own words and he swallowed hard to keep himself composed. This was the first they saw each other in ten years; he didn't want to make Rin see him in a mess.

"Yeah." Rin murmured.

Haru took in a quick breath as he felt his throat hurt from holding his feelings back so much. His eyes started to gather water which immediately threatened to fall. "I watched all of your matches. You've truly gone so far and it's amazing." He forced out just to keep the conversation going and make the other stay awhile longer. Just awhile longer would do. His tears had started rolling down his cheeks but his voice amazingly stayed firm. "Seeing you reach your dream and swim in the Olympics, I feel very happy for you."

A sob almost escaped his mouth but he stubbornly forced it back down, his throat hurting with protest. He wiped away his tears with his sleeves, wishing that Rin wouldn't notice him crying even though he's so obvious. _No, no, no_, he kept thinking to himself as he tried to stop his crying. _Rin will be troubled_, and he didn't want his crying to disrupt their very rare moment together.

He looked at the red-head when his tears had cleared away his sight but he felt his heart sank even further. He didn't know what he was expecting but seeing Rin crossing his arms while looking irked, he couldn't help but feel saddened. And suddenly, he just wanted to run away and break down. "I'm very happy that I'm able to congratulate you, Rin." He stated and turned on his heel then _walked_ away.

_Chase after me_. He prayed. _Come after me_. He wished. _Stop me_. But nothing.

* * *

The sound of his ringtone rang for the umpteenth time and he just couldn't bear to continue on listening to it end anymore. He was doing nothing but lie down on the tatami mat lifelessly and let his eyes leak tears anyway. And he'd stayed that way ever since he'd arrived home. So he strained himself to take his cell phone from the table, slide a finger across it then sloppily press it against his ear. "Yes."

"Haruka-senpai? Sorry for disturbing you." A familiar female voice which Haruka recognized that was of Kou's said.

"What is it?" He asked uninterestedly, closing his eyes tiredly. He cried his eyes out so he felt really exhausted that he could already feel himself falling into sleep.

"Were you able to meet brother?" A realization hit Haru and he didn't know if he should thank the girl for giving him a chance to meet Rin or be angry at her. _No_, he thought to himself. He was very very thankful that he got to meet Rin. Seeing him was already good enough.

"Yes."

"… Did you talk things through?"

Haru exhaled, ready to go to deep sleep. "There was nothing to talk about." He almost only whispered. He relaxed a lot when there was only silence from the other side that he fell slightly asleep.

"Haruka-senpai, brother will meet you tomorrow night at Iwatobi school pool." Haruka's sleepiness vanished into thin air, his eyes snapping wide open as he sat up. He leaned into the phone which he clutched tightly with two hands as he uttered, "What?"

"Brother will meet you tomorrow night at Iwatobi school pool." Kou repeated then added. "Please be sure to get things straight between the two of you at that time."

Haru's chest fluttered, his azure eyes gleaming brightly in a way that they had not for a very long time. Rin was meeting him in a pool and meeting in a pool could only mean one thing, right? _Will we be swimming together again?_

* * *

The club activities and swimming practice finally ended and Haru bid farewell to his students with rare cheerfulness that his students stopped by him for seconds to stare at him then moving on while whispering to one another. Haru knew he must've been acting strange but he couldn't help it. He was meeting a certain someone and he couldn't help his happiness from leaking out.

"Haru!" A familiar voice called out and Haru almost jumped when he snapped his head towards the source of the voice. He saw his three loyal friends waving at him from the wall beside the door to the exit and he ran to them with a puzzled expression.

"Haru-chan, let's go out and eat!" Nagisa enthusiastically offered, Makoto explaining after him with a chuckle, "It's been awhile since we last got together so we thought we should eat out today. What do you think?" Rei immediately added to be more persuasive, "It's not always that our schedules match together so we should definitely go out!"

Haru only stared at them and Makoto noticed the slight change in his childhood best friend. "You seem to be in a good mood today, Haru. Did something good happen?"

The answer to that was very clear when Haru's eyes shone, not one from the three could even miss it. They gaped at Haru for a moment before Makoto's expression broke into a fond smile. He turned to the other two with a disappointed smile. "Seems like Haru can't go with us today. Let's try again next time."

"Ehhh ?" Nagisa whined, repeatedly asking Makoto, "Why?" but only received a, "I'll explain later."

When the three were heading towards the exit, Haru called out to Makoto and the said childhood best friend turned to him. "Thank you." He said with a smile that Makoto had not seen since a long time ago. Makoto smiled back cheerfully with a nod then pushed the other two out of the pool.

Then, Haru waited.

* * *

The sun had set, the moon had risen, Haru stayed seated by the edge of the pool. The temperature had dropped so he draped a jacket on his bare shoulders and waited.

Hours had passed and it wasn't impatience that Haru felt. It was his excitement going down the drain. _Won't he come?_, he thought the first hour. _Why won't he come?_, he thought the second hour. _He won't come_, he thought the third hour. But even then, he didn't leave. _Just a bit more_, he couldn't help but hope. Even that hope, though, also died out.

He withdrew his feet from the waters and stood up to go change into his clothes. After that, he took his bag and exited the pool and locked up. He slowly walked out of the building, feeling like he's carrying a heavy baggage from how his shoulders were slumped.

_Why didn't he come?_ Even though ten years had already passed, even though they were already adults, even though Rin already reached his dreams, _why can't we just go back to how we used to be?_

Upon reaching the exit of the building, Haru bent down on his knees, his head leaning down on it, his arms wrapped around himself. He knew this wasn't the right place to be breaking down but he couldn't contain his feelings anymore. Why was he still waiting for Rin? Why was he still hoping to have a better relationship with him? Why couldn't he just forget him? _Why do I still love him?_ He took in a deep breath and muttered to himself, "I should just give up."

"Haru." For a moment, Haru couldn't register the voice in his head. "Oi, Haru." But when he did, his eyes widened to their fullest and his head snapped up to look at the owner of the voice. His heart that seemed to have been dead started beating fast with both excitement and happiness that threatened to drown him. "Rin."

Rin raised an eyebrow at Haru as he demanded, "What did you mean when you said you'd give up?"

With only one thing going through his head, Haru got up to his feet and ran to hug Rin tightly. "I changed my mind." He whispered. "I won't give up." Because Rin was with him. _Rin came._

* * *

A/N: The next one contains the M. Thank you for the reviews The Only Sane One, Marii-san, PinkSugarDust and Anime Writer2 . I love you guys . Thank you for the follows and favorites too ! :D


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: I wish I owned Free! Then Haru and Rin lived happily ever after. The end.

A/N: The rated M is here but it's not much 'cause I couldn't make myself write too much detail. It's my first time writing something rated M and I felt so embarrassed I couldn't continue on. I'm so sorry for a lot of things. Please forgive me for any mistakes ! Oh, and this _should_ be the last chapter.

* * *

When Haru lunged at him and hugged him, Rin's heart almost jumped out of his chest. He froze for a second at the feel of Haru's body so close to him then almost relaxed in his embrace but he realized that his hands had moved to hug back the smaller one halfway and instead of settling his palms against his back, they gripped on his shoulders and pushed him away.

Haru's face broke into surprise at first until he seemed to have realized his own abrupt actions and his azure eyes returned to their saddened state. They fell into awkward silence, just facing each other but not looking at each other's eyes.

Everything that had happened so far weren't within Rin's plans. Well, he didn't have one in the first place. He was not supposed to come and see Haru –he had decided on it- but he couldn't stop his feet from leaving the house at the thought of Haru waiting for him. He just couldn't bear the thought of giving Haru another heartache when he'd already caused him so much pain.

So he left his place and ended up at the entrance of the Iwatobi school pool only to find himself not courageous enough to go in. He couldn't bring himself to leave either. So he settled outside, leaning against the wall and waited for Haru to come out. Which brought him another problem to think about because he didn't know what to do if they met. Well, fuck it. He'd just think about it when it happens.

After waiting for an hour or so, he got impatient and almost decided to just head in and face his dark-haired rival. But he chickened out and returned to the wall, lightly banging his head against it in frustration. He didn't know what to do.

He spent another thirty-minutes and maybe more on hesitating and he'd finally decided to deal with this shit. He took in deep breaths and told himself he'd be fine, that this was the last for the two of them and just when he was about to go enter the entrance, Haru came out looking lifeless and stopped dead in front of him.

Rin flinched at the sight of Haru but the latter didn't seem to have noticed him. He just bent on his knees and balled himself up. They just stayed like that for what seemed like long minutes until Haru breathed in and muttered, "I should just give up."

_Give up what?_, Rin asked himself. There were a lot of things that he could be giving up. Give up on swimming? He frowned with unpleasant feelings bubbling in his chest. Give up on _him_? A jolt of pain hit him on the chest. Give up on life? A dreading feeling grew on him because that wasn't entirely impossible. Worse, he might be the reason for it. He then couldn't stop himself from calling out to the oblivious dark-haired man.

And that was how they got themselves into this awkward situation.

"Rin." Just like how it had been since he returned, Haru broke the silence. He still kept his eyes away from Rin's face though. "Won't you swim with me?" He pursed his lips before adding, "For one last time. Please." His voice slightly shook at the end.

"Sure." Rin replied almost instantly and Haru looked at him with wide shining eyes. Rin returned the gaze and added, "For one last time." He could at least give Haru this, right? For all the pain that he's inflicted the other and perhaps, for all the feelings that he'd denied to himself all this time. Then maybe, at the end of all this, the two of them would be able to let go.

Haru gave him a small happy smile that took his breath away then they went inside the school pool.

* * *

The two men went inside the locker rooms and changed. After changing out of his clothes and into his swimming gear, Rin caught sight of the ring on his left ring finger and his chest squeezed him from the inside tightly. He took it off and carefully put it on one of the pockets of his bag then headed out to the pool.

* * *

Haru stood on the starting block, his heart hammering into his chest rapidly with excitement he had not felt for years. He gazed at the waters that glimmered so temptingly and felt the strong urge to just dive in. But no, _not without Rin_.

Seconds after Haru had stepped on the starting block, Rin stepped up on the one beside him and brought down his goggles to his eyes, running a finger through the strap and stretching it then letting go of it which made a snapping sound when it hit the skin of the cap.

Seeing Rin do that, Haru couldn't help but be filled with happiness. He missed seeing that gesture and it proved to him that Rin was really standing beside him, getting ready to get into the water. He brought down his own goggles unto his eyes and looked at Rin.

"We'll do a 100m race." Rin said and Haru nodded. Even fifty would've already been enough for him just as long as he got to swim with Rin again. "Ready." Rin signaled and they both bent down. "Set." They leaned back. "Go."

They dived into the waters, Rin kicking further than Haru. The latter closed that distance by the speed of his strokes but Rin always managed to get ahead, not so far though that they wouldn't be feeling each other swim on their side anymore.

Haru felt so pumped up that he could feel himself swimming faster than usual just to keep up with Rin. He could feel Rin swimming beside him and happiness overflowed from his chest that, if he had not been in the water, his tears had already been rolling down his cheeks. Rin was purposely holding back and Haru knew that. But instead of feeling insulted, Haru only felt appreciation because then they swam side by side.

Rin reached the turn first and Haru felt him slow down a bit when they swam back to the starting point. Haru went faster though as a challenge to Rin and he complied. The dark-haired man swam to his fullest alongside the redhead until finally, Rin's hand banged against the wall of the pool, followed by Haru milliseconds later. They got out of the water, Haru panting more than Rin, his knees and hands against the floor. Then he started sobbing.

He never felt so happy in years that the feeling overwhelmed him. His tears of joy wouldn't stop from flowing at all, no matter how much he wiped them away. _What if Rin misunderstands?_ He immediately looked up at the man to explain his tears.

But Rin had kneeled in front of him before he could speak, surprising him. And what surprised him more was the pained expression on Rin's face as if he was about to cry. "Haru, I'm sorry." He said with a trembling voice that sent daggers to Haru's heart. "I'm sorry."

Haru gaped at Rin for a second before looking into his red eyes searchingly as he asked, "What are you apologizing for, Rin?"

"A lot of things." Rin replied and tears started rolling out of his eyes.

Haru was so surprised, at the same time pained, at the rare vulnerable sight of Rin. The last time he'd seen Rin like this was when they were in middle school and he'd felt the same from back then.

"I'm sorry for rejecting you. I'm sorry for hurting you." Rin sobbed, his tears continuing to fall. "I'm sorry for being so selfish. I couldn't help it. I was afraid that I'd never reach my dream so I rejected your feelings. Even though I felt the same too. I'm sorry."

A gasp left Haru's mouth in disbelief and he grabbed the redhead's shoulders, his wide blue eyes staring straight into red ones. "What do you mean?" He demanded and almost shook Rin, his hands tightening on the muscles underneath his palms. "What do you mean you felt the same too?"

It took time for Rin to answer him; he even looked like he didn't want to say anything. Haru waited patiently though until Rin finally grabbed a hold on his wrist and closed his eyes then spat out, "I love you! Even before that time we parted. I've always been in love with you."

Haru couldn't believe his ears and he just stared at Rin with his mouth open. He couldn't quiet digest Rin's confession but he did and his eyes shone even brighter. He felt like he could never be happier. "Rin, are you serious?"

"Of course I am!" Rin exclaimed, wiping his tears away. "I kept on denying it to myself but even after ten years had passed, my feelings for you never left. And after swimming with you again," he looked into Haru's eyes and felt himself being drawn into them. "I just couldn't lie to myself anymore. I love you."

Haru pulled Rin into a tight hug and almost yelled, "I love you too!" and repeated it again and again. His chest could really explode with happiness now, his heart flying out of his ribcage with how it fluttered in bliss. He wondered if he had not only been dreaming with how unreal everything seemed.

"But it's already too late." Rin whispered against Haru's neck.

The celebration in Haru's head stopped and he pulled away from Rin, his eyes questioning the redhead's.

Rin took in a deep breath with a sob and stated as quietly as he could, "I'm getting married soon."

"Eh?" As quickly as the happiness came, as quickly as it went. All the emotions Haru felt just seconds ago left him with nothing but emptiness. "You're lying."

Another deep breath as Rin explained. "I came back home to bring my fiancé to my father's grave."

Haru tensed, his shoulders going up as his breathing started going deep and rushed, like he's about to hyperventilate. Except, he broke into a crying mess when Rin's words had dawned into him cruelly, his chest being rained down with knives and needles and anything painful. His crying now was even harder from when Rin had left him. Just as he thought he could never be happier, he could never be sadder either. He might as well have become grief itself.

It was Rin this time who pulled Haru into a hug in an attempt to comfort the other as he whispered, "Haru, I'm sorry. I'm sorry." But he himself was crying and wasn't feeling any better. When it felt like a hug just wasn't enough, Rin started trailing kisses along Haru's jaw, his cheeks, his forehead, his eyes.

As much as how Haru felt how wonderful and sweet Rin's kisses on his skin were, they were just as painful and cruel. They were poisonous. Even so, Haru let Rin continue. He didn't want him to stop. In fact, he wanted more. So when Rin kissed the corner of his mouth, he shifted his head and accepted the kiss on his lips.

Rin startled in surprise at the contact of Haru's lips but he didn't pull back and soon relaxed against the softness of it. It was sweet yet bitter, tender yet painful, and loving. Then it was Haru who first started moving his lips and licked at the bottom lip of Rin. The redhead couldn't resist pushing a tongue inside Haru's mouth who gasped in surprise, letting Rin have more access to his wet cavern. He explored his new discovery, licking here and there, stroking on Haru's tongue and inviting it to his own mouth.

Shyly at first, Haru inserted his tongue into Rin's mouth and randomly moved it around. He mimicked Rin's earlier ministrations then Rin wrapped his own tongue against Haru's who moaned at the contact. He then pulled away from Rin with a fiery blush on his cheeks and brought a hand on his mouth.

"Sorry." Rin mumbled, his own cheeks tinted with red. Haru's chest tightened and he caressed a hand against Rin's cheek. "Don't apologize." He said and leaned closer. "I want more." He whispered and took Rin's mouth with his own.

Rin returned the kiss and Haru melted into it. Then the redhead brought their bodies down to the floor, Haru's back against it and Rin hovered above him. Rin pulled back a few inches from Haru to look into his eyes and whispered huskily, "You'd better not regret this."

Haru slightly smiled and replied, "Never." Then wrapped his arms around Rin's neck and pulled him down into a kiss.

Rin ran a hand across Haru's chest; his other hand stationed on the dark-haired's hips. He came across one of Haru's nipples and he pressed a thumb against it then rubbed which made Haru moan and buck his hips, rubbing his erection against Rin's own. Haru gasped when he felt Rin hard while Rin groaned in pleasure.

Learning how good rubbing their erections felt, Rin traced a finger along the waistband of Haru's trunks then tugged them down. Haru helpfully lifted up his hips to make removing the piece of cloth easier then it was thrown aside somewhere behind them. Rin ran his eyes over Haru's naked body and muttered, "Beautiful." And hearing him, Haru blushed.

Rin also removed the only piece of clothing he had on and threw it away somewhere then ground his hips against Haru's, slowly at first until it just wasn't enough anymore so he went faster. Haru kept on moaning at the contact which urged Rin to do more, then Haru also started rolling his hips, meeting Rin's at each grind.

Looking at their manhood rubbing against each other, Haru wrapped a hand around them and started pumping, making Rin moan and grinding even harder and thrusting into his hand.

"Ah, Rin, I'm close." Haru whispered, biting down on his lower lip from pleasure, his half-lidded eyes staring into Rin's pleasure-filled face. It was very beautiful and Haru couldn't stop a hand from cupping his cheek lovingly. Realizing that this could be the only time he could see Rin like this, tears started pooling in his eyes and rolling sideways to his ears.

Rin groaned and replied, "I'm close too." and with one final thrust, Haru moaned loudly that it echoed within the room and shuddered as he came. Rin continued on grinding until he too felt his own release and rode on it.

After their orgasm, Rin rested his forehead against Haru's chest, panting slightly before lifting his head up to look at Haru.

"Rin." Haru called out, brushing away Rin's hair from his face and tucking them behind his ear. "Won't you continue?"

For a moment, Rin's eyes widened but he seemed to have understood from Haru's eyes that they should continue. Because this could be the only time they could do this. So he pressed his lips against Haru's and replied, "I will."

* * *

When morning came, Rin woke up with Haru sleeping beside him. This unusual sight surprised him at first then he remembered what happened the night before and he felt his eyes grow wet. He let a tear escape his eye but nothing more. He sat up right after and got out of bed then wore his clothes.

After a round at the pool, they decided to head to Haru's house and did some more rounds. Once just couldn't be enough for the both of them and how they wished that the night had never ended. But alas, the world was cruel just as reality was.

Having changed into his clothes, Rin walked to Haru and sat down beside him. He caressed his dark-haired rival's cheek gently and with all the love he'd held for him. And feeling like he should be going before Haru woke up, he bent down to give his love a light kiss on the head. "Goodbye, Haru." He whispered, stood up then headed for the door.

When Rin's footsteps have finally died down, Haru slowly opened his eyes and touched the part of his head where Rin had left a kiss. Then he started to tremble as the grief of being left by Rin again had filled him.

* * *

The airport system had announced the arrival of the flight Rin was waiting for and he stood waiting for the woman he was supposed to be married to soon. As a crowd of people started pouring out to the area, Rin spotted a familiar head of black and he went to greet her.

When the woman spotted him, she beamed and half-ran to him as she called out, "Rin!" and when they got closer to each other, she went and hugged him for a second. "I missed you! How was it to be back to your home?"

Rin slightly smiled at her as he replied, "I'm glad I came back."

"Oh? That's great!" The woman took his left hand to her own and noticed a certain thing missing from it. She looked at his hand, her azure eyes widening. "Rin, where's your ring?"

As she looked up at him, his expression turned serious and he answered with, "I have something I need to talk with you."

* * *

A/N: I think this is a good ending. But it's not. I mean, not the end yet. There'll be more because I have something more I want to write. It's nothing good though. I hope you enjoyed ! Thank you for reading this ! Thank you for following and favoriting and reviewing , I love all of you so much :D :*


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: I wish I owned Free! Then there'll be more than just friendship between Rin and Haru in the anime.

A/N: I apologize for this very late and short update. A lot of things happened, like, getting my laptop stolen, strong earthquake and tornado and shizz(Oh I wish these are all just mere excuses and jokes but nooooo T.T). I'll be sure to update tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to make it up to all of you my readers. Forgive me for any mistakes !

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Chapter 4

The first time Erika set foot in her boyfriend, Rin Matsuoka's house was four months after she'd conquered him from countless rivals. It was a harsh battle of one-sided love on the ladies' part as Rin was a famous Olympic swimmer with a beauty that could easily steal the ladies' heart. Not to mention he was very fit as he was an athlete so the girls were literally salivating over him.

Step by step, she won him over no matter what method until finally, they became official. That alone was of greatest happiness and pride to her but to enter Rin's private space was another achievement she was to brag of. Her eyes could only stay wide with excitement, her chest fluttering with happiness. She made sure to burn in her eyes the sight of the interior of Rin's apartment, every nook and cranny!

With that said, she caught sight of the pictures displayed on the shelves of the living room and ran to them to run her eyes over them. They were pictures of Rin from when he was young, a picture of him and his younger sister, Kou, and pictures of him from every tournament he won an award. She stared at each of them for seconds, making sure that the images remained in her mind, until her eyes fell unto a snow globe.

The figurine inside was that of a dolphin frozen at the moment of its jumping out of the water. She found it beautiful that she just took it in her hands and gazed at it closely. "This is beautiful!" She exclaimed.

Hearing her, Rin turned to look at her and his eyes widened at the sight of the snow globe. He stomped towards her and snatched it out of her hold, surprising her of his sudden movement. He glared at the object as if it was its fault that she saw it, his hands dangerously tightening around it.

Erika worried that Rin might tighten his hold any further that he'd break it and injure himself. But before she could say a word of warning to him, his hands slightly relaxed around it as if he'd realized he might break it and didn't want that to happen. He clicked his tongue and gently placed it back down on the shelf, telling her, "Don't just touch anything."

"Y- yeah." Erika replied and watched Rin walk away from the shelf. She looked back down at the snow globe and, this time, noticed a picture frame that was facing downwards. She was just about to reach out and pick it up to look at the picture on it when Rin's voice called out, "I just said not to touch anything." She withdrew her hand and turned to Rin who had a frown etched into his eyebrows. "Don't ever touch that picture frame, you hear me?"

Feeling a bit scared, Erika could only nod her head obediently and leave the picture frame nagging at her curiosity. As far as she knew Rin, he wasn't the type to really show strong emotions on things that didn't concern swimming. So even though he only showed what seemed like dislike towards the snow globe and the picture frame, they must've still meant something to him. Especially because, if he only purely disliked them, he could've just thrown them. But he didn't. He couldn't.

* * *

After the above event, Erika left the snow globe and picture frame alone and even forgot about them. She wouldn't even probably be reminded of them if not of Rin getting sick one day. He had this high fever probably from swimming while the weather was cold and she enthusiastically went to nurse him. It was a rare chance for her to see him weak as Rin was prideful and always kept a strong image and she figured she might as well have him depend on her a little.

Thus, she looked after her beloved boyfriend a little too happily when she wasn't supposed to be as seeing that he was sick until the man fell asleep. She continued to watch over him until she also fell asleep beside him and drifted into her dreamland. She was jerked awake, however, when Rin started groaning, his face twisted into a pained expression that had her very worried.

"Rin, what's wrong?" She asked as she tried to shake him out of his slumber then froze in surprise as a single streak of tear ran down from his closed eyelids. She watched that droplet run through his skin until his eyelids lifted open and revealed watery red orbs. "Rin, what's wrong?" She repeated and waited as he shifted his eyes to her. He slowly reached out a hand to her face, gently caressing her cheek as if to wipe away something there. And as her heart warmed up with this sweet gesture, her blood immediately ran cold at the next word that slipped out of his boyfriend's lips. "Haru."

After uttering that name unknown to her, his hand went limp and fell to his side, his eyes slowly closing down as his breathing evened out, back to his sleeping state.

As much as she wanted to shake Rin out of his sleep again to demand the identity of that name, she was way too shocked to actually do anything. But as she stayed frozen on her seat though, her mind was running wild with thoughts of different emotins.

Was he cheating on her? No, she was sure of that. Not only because of her trust on him but because he wasn't the type to cheat. He was the type to break off the relationship once tired with it and move on to his new interest. Although it was already miracle enough she was able to stay in a long term relationship with him, she was still convinced that Rin was not cheating on her.

Then, a person of the past? Someone he loved truly and couldn't get over with? The possible reason that Rin was such a playboy? But there was no "Haru" ever mentioned in the known history of Rin's relationships. Especially if it's someone he truly loved, then everyone who was a fan of Rin and was pursuing for him should've known her! She'd be the greatest enemy of the fan club, the final boss of the battle of Rin's heart. But in her almost a year of dating him, there was no "Haru" at all.

As she searched her mind for anything that could perhaps lead to this "Haru", she remembered the snow globe and the picture frame. Her heart jumped as she assumed she'd found the greatest hint about this "Haru" so far and ran down to the living room where the snow globe and the picture frame collected dusts on the shelves.

She stood in front of the objects of her interest nervously, her sweating hands clenched tightly. The snow globe must've been something "Haru" gave him and that's why Rin couldn't throw it away. She glared at the snow globe with dislike now when she actually found it very beautiful the first time. _And the picture frame_, her gaze shifted to the said object and she also glared at it. It must be a picture of "Haru" or something. Then Rin wouldn't be keeping it down, right?

_I swear, when I find out who you are-!_ Erika grabbed the picture frame angrily and glared daggers at the picture. Until she found out what it was a picture of and her expression cleared of animosity and was replaced with confusion.

It was a picture of Rin from when he was in elementary school. A picture of him and three other boys she didn't recognize in a swimming pool. They were only wearing their identical swimming trunks with gold medals around on each of their necks, Rin's arm holding a trophy and the other draped across the shoulders of the black haired boy among the others.

She didn't understand why Rin didn't want anyone to see this picture when it was pretty ordinary although the picture showed a sight of Rin genuinely smiling of which is a rare sight at the present. She stared at it Rin's smiling face while wondering about the picture until finally, she remembered about "Haru". In the end, she couldn't find a hint of her existence and she might have also thought wrongly about the snow globe.

A little disappointingly, Erika returned the picture frame to its place and sighed, her shoulders greatly slumping down. Who was this "Haru"?

* * *

While still pondering about the existence of "Haru", the doorbell rang and stripped Erika away of her dazed state. She stood up from her seat on the living room and headed to the front door, absent-mindlessly opening it and greeting the person on the other side, "Yes?"

The familiar features that were exactly the same as Rin's made Erika's eyes widen and mouth slightly falling open. "Kou!" She exclaimed and the younger sister of her boyfriend politely bowed.

"Good morning." Kou greeted and smiled at the girlfriend of his older brother.

Erika stepped aside and let Kou enter the apartment then led here to the living room. "Tea, Kou?"

"Yes." Kou replied as she sat down on one of the couches and as Erika disappeared into the kitchen to serve her tea. She came back minutes later with the said tea and offered it to Kou, taking a cup for herself and sitting down on the couch opposite to Kou.

"I heard that brother got sick just when I came to visit." Kou started, taking the teacup to her hands. "I was hoping that we could go hang out together but I guess it's already good enough that I'm here when he needs to be taken care of the most." She seemed to have realized something and put down her tea with a bow of her head. "You must've been taking care of him this whole time. Thank you very much, Erika-san."

Erika smiled at Kou, waving a hand at her. "It's nothing. I'm quiet glad that he can rely on me at times like these."

Kou let out a giggle as she took her tea again. "I used to be the one who took care of him whenever he got a fever in the past so I felt the same satisfaction of being relied on by brother."

At the mention of something about Rin's past, Erika remembered "Haru" and wondered if Kou knew about her. They were siblings after all so Kou should at least know something about someone who was so important to Rin, right? She looked at Kou and hesitated on how she should open the topic. She didn't know where to start and just wanted to blurt out, "Who is Haru?" But that'd sure to surprise Kou and she didn't want to be so straightforward. So she decided to start with what's bugging her other than the identity of "Haru".

"Kou." She called out and the younger sister looked at her with question. "I want to ask something." She stopped at that with hesitation and sensing that, Kou pushed on with a, "What is it?"

Erika looked at the snow globe, Kou following her gaze. "Did someone give Rin that snow globe?"

"Eh?" Kou looked at the other lady with slightly widened eyes with a reply, "Brother bought that himself."

"Really?" Confusion swirled in Erika's eyes as she gazed at Kou. "But it seemed like he really disliked the snow globe."

Kou brought down her gaze to her tea and murmured, "It must be because it reminds him of something painful."

"Does it have something to do with someone named "Haru"?" In the end, Erika couldn't keep it in and just blurted that out. As expected, Kou looked really surprised which proved to Erika that the younger sister did know of something. She averted her gaze from Kou's as she explained, "Rin called out that name after he woke up from a nightmare. And he was crying."

There was only silence after that as Kou only stayed gaping at Erika until finally, the latter couldn't bear it anymore and called out, "Kou?"

The red haired girl snapped out of her shock and got flustered. She put down her tea clumsily and almost spilled it then went to fiddling with her fingers, her eyes averted. "Um… this is really hard to explain-."

Their discussion was cut off when Rin staggered into the living room suddenly, Kou jumping out of her seat from nervousness and Erika just flinching with surprise. Kou snapped up to her feet and ran to her older brother and greeted him, asked him how he was and urged him to go back to rest.

As the sister pushed the brother to go back to the room, she turned back to the girlfriend and mouthed, "I'll talk to you later."

* * *

Throughout the whole day, after that discussion, Erika couldn't sit still at all. She was itching to hear about this "Haru" and it was almost unbearable to wait for the day to turn into night and for their patient to go back to sleep. She couldn't help thinking that if she'd missed her chance to know now, then she might not know for another year or so. Rin was almost recovered and Kou wouldn't be staying with them for long. If not tonight, then at some other day or month or year but she was getting impatient!

Finally, when the two ladies were left alone in the living room, Kou almost felt awkward having Erika stare at her intently, waiting for her to tell about "Haru". Before starting things off, Kou took in a deep breath and exhaled audibly. Then she took out her cellphone and fiddled with it for a little before showing Erika a picture of a familiar black-haired, blue-eyed man whom the latter felt she'd seen before.

"Um… Erika-san… this… this is… this is "Haru"."

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews and the encouragement to continue this! I don't know if this satisfies you but I hope it does. This might seem a bit useless but really, I just wanted to express Rin's love for Haru in a different way. Thank you for all the reviews and the follows too ! Please review ! I love you all ! :D


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